In general, wireless mobile devices can be used for exchanging data. For example, these devices can be used for browsing the Internet, checking emails, or exchanging messages with other wireless devices. In order to maintain competitiveness, many wireless carriers continually upgrade their networks to support new data exchange capabilities, including new types of messaging formats and delivery methods. However, because capabilities vary greatly between different carriers, problems generally arise as a mobile phone user roams between service areas managed by different carriers. For example, even though a mobile device in the user's home area can support a plurality of messaging formats, the wireless network in another location may be able to only support only a few or none of these messaging formats.
Additionally, most carriers charge additional fees for using messaging services. For example, users can subscribe to a messaging service that includes unlimited messaging or a fixed number of messages. However, many users are generally uninterested in using messaging on a regular basis or may be unwilling to pay additional fees. Therefore, when one of these users receives a message or needs to utilize such services on a one-time or otherwise irregular basis, users can be frustrated by the per-message fees incurred, such fees typically being relatively higher than those paid by messaging subscribers.
Therefore, there is a need for providing phone messaging services without using the messaging features of a wireless network.